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HOW TO TELL THE BOSS YOU'RE PREGNANT

You kicked your coffee habit weeks ago, but your boss still hasn't clued into the fact that you're pregnant. You're wondering how-and when-you should share your big news at work. While there's no "right time" to announce your pregnancy, you can increase your chances of meeting with a positive reaction if you plan your announcement carefully. Here are a few tips:

* Don't neglect the power of the office grapevine. Share your news with your boss before she hears it from someone else. This doesn't mean that you can't tell anyone else first: you just have to be discreet. If you do decide to confide in a co-worker, make sure she realizes that she's the only one who knows about your pregnancy. That way, she'll be less likely to spill the beans before you're ready to go public with your news.

* If you think your boss will react negatively to your announcement, you might want to wait until you have passed the highest-risk period for miscarriage before announcing your pregnancy. That way, you won't end up causing waves at the office only to discover that you aren't going to need a maternity leave after all. Of course, if you are suffering from severe morning sickness or other pregnancy-related complications, you may have to share your news a little sooner that you had planned in order to explain why you are late coming in each morning or why you have been taking so much time off for medical appointments.

* If you are expecting a performance or salary review in the near future, keep your news to yourself until after it has been completed. That way, if the results of your review are less than what you'd hoped for, you won't have to wonder whether you're the victim of pregnancy discrimination.

* Time your announcement to co-incide with a major achievement at work (i.e. the completion of a major project). That way, you can show your boss through actions rather than words that you are as productive and committed to your job as ever-thereby addressing a perennial fear of many employers.

* Don't be afraid to postpone your announcement if your boss is having a bad day. If she is in a particularly foul mood or is scrambling to meet an important deadline, hold off on sharing your news until she's in a more receptive frame of mind.

* Be prepared for a lukewarm reaction. While your boss may be genuinely happy for you, she may be concerned about what your pregnancy may mean to the company. If yours is the first pregnancy she has had to deal with on the job, she's likely to be particularly apprehensive.

* Be ready to talk about what work modifications, if any, may be required during your pregnancy. If you work in a hazardous environment-i.e. an x-ray laboratory or a chemical manufacturing plant-you may need to ask to be reassigned to a different type of work for the duration of your pregnancy.

* Don't make promises you can't keep-like when you plan to take your maternity leave and how quickly you will return to work. Instead, simply agree to discuss these plans when your pregnancy is a little further along.